Messiah in His Mission

The Old Testament bears out the physical return of the Messiah, also a wonderful testimony to the consistency of God’s Word. Comparing Zechariah 12:10; 14:4 with Revelation 1:7; Matthew 24:30; and Acts 1:9–12, it is obvious that the Lord’s ascension was visible, for the disciples saw Him rise, and in like fashion (Greek, tropos) the angels declared He would return. Zechariah 12:10 quotes Jehovah (further proof of Christ’s deity), "And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced" (emphasis mine). Revelation 1:7 states that Christ is the one pierced and visible to human eyes. Zechariah 14:4 reveals Christ as touching the Mount of Olives at His visible return, and the Scriptures teach that this literally corroborates the angelic proclamation of Acts 1:9–12 even to the Lord’s return to the exact location of His ascension, the Mount of Olives (v. 12). The doctrine of the physical return of Christ cannot be denied unless a denial of God’s Word also be entered.

 

Many people think that today’s natural disasters, man-made catastrophes, social/political unrest, and devastating diseases are unique to this era. Hence, we must be living "in the last days" (Acts 2:17) before Jesus’ return. Nothing could be further from the truth. To assert that "the last days" only recently began and that the present generation is witnessing never-before-seen tragedies is to believe what is historically untrue and biblically unsound.

 

In the fullness of time Messiah arrived to "confirm the covenant" by His own blood. Standing at the transition point between the old era and the new, we hear Jesus declaring, "This [cup] is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Matt. 26:28. To Jews steeped in Old Testament history and the hope of Old Testament prophets, what could this mean but that the hour had finally arrived for the new exodus, the deliverance of all deliverances? The words "new covenant" surely signify the inauguration of the new kingdom.

 

And with his stripes we are healed - Handel Messiah, Global Mission Church Choir, conductor/ Sung Hee Koo Rhee

 

 

 

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